St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 39

fee St CbmIbs Fast THE ST. CHARLES COUNTY EDITION OF THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPA TCH Monday, November 30, 1981 if Tax District Studied For Flood Victims Harold Bartch said there was about $25,000 left in the fund after maintenance work had been done. Since then, the money from the fund was used to pay a construction firm to use a backhoe to clean out the silt from box culverts under the bridge to Runnymeade. Runnymeade residents have been fighting the creek for a long time.

The desilting project was to prevent the creek from backing up and flooding See CREEKS, Page 2 By Nordeka English Of the St. Charles Post The St. Charles City Council is exploring a way to allow residents who live along the city's creeks to set up their own storm sewer district, says Councilman Rodger W. Parker, 3rd Ward. Under the proposal, those living along the creeks would tax themselves to pay for correcting flooding problems.

The plan was suggested because, as Councilman James A. Williams, also of the 3rd Ward, says, "The people on top of the hill aren't interested in paying more taxes." Parker and Williams say a look into the problem turned up more questions, such as: How can the district be set up? How much will it cost? Will a creek survey be necessary? But "we hope to have some answers by the end of next week," Parker said Friday. The idea came from Mayor Douglas F. Boschert, Parker said. But the problem came up at a 3rd Ward town hall meeting.

Creek flooding is a common subject for discussion in the 3rd Ward. That's where the Runnymeade subdivision is. Runny meade and the A-Okay Apartments made headlines last July. Most of the basements were awash in several feet of water from Cole Creek when the skies opened on July 28. Besides Cole Creek, Boschert, Sandfort and Boonslick creeks run through the city.

Residents who live along the creek banks have suffered increasingly from flooding through the years. The city has made some efforts to correct problems by cleaning out the creeks and culverts. But some say the city is at fault for approving building plans that increase flooding. Often, when a project is proposed, residents downstream or down the hill from the project protest that water runoff from paving and rooftops will add to the problem. The city set up a $50,000 housekeeping fund for the creeks for the 1980-81 fiscal year.

For the 1981-82 fiscal year, the budget is $30,000, with about $18,000 left over from the year before. In September, former City Engineer Lloyd SpainhowerSt. Charles Post Santa Claus arrived Friday morning on the Riverside Mall, via the greet him. Santa was accompanied by members of the St. Charles Main Street Shuttle.

And a group of his most avid fans was there to Clown Club. Christmas On St Charles 9 Main Street other big plans for the Christmas season on South Main Street. Next Sunday afternoon, the Penny Royal Puppets will present an original show entitled "Dragon Stew for Christmas" at 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. at the Katy Depot. Tickets are free and distributed on a first-come basis.

The City Mimes, Tom Thale and Raymo the Clown, along with Sonny the Sleeveless Magician, will entertain onlookers near the 700 block of South Main. Free shows are at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. For older, more serious visitors to the historic area, new flag poles will be dedicated in Frontier Park at noon Sunday, and the St. Charles Artist Guild will open its new all-members show, "A Winter Wonderland." only place I've heard of," he added. Any family or individual interested in caroling should meet at 6:30 p.m.

at the intersection of South Main Street and Boonslick Road, dressed warmly and with flashlights or candles suitable for music reading, Dengler said. Accompanied by Mayor Douglas F. Boschert, the group will proceed down South Main Street, wheeling the yule log along. There will be a wreath-hanging ceremony at Kister Park, followed eventually by singing around the city's Christmas tree and the lighting of a yule log and bonfire at Frontier Park. "Anyone is welcome non-singers, singers," Dengler "If you can mumble or hum, that's great." Aside from the caroling, there are Merchants began gearing up for the Christmas season last week, when Friday brought hoards of shoppers out of their homes and into the shops.

Workers disagreed over which items sold best, but all agreed that items were selling. "This place is a madhouse," said Barbara Stiegemier, from behind the counter at Patches 337 South Main. "Everyone is going in for crafts these days. It makes a gift more personal." Miss Stiegemier said that quilting and calico material were most popular in the store. Claes, owner of Claes', 307 South Main, pointed out that See CHRISTMAS, Page! Civic Center Getting A Dose Of Civic Pride New Library May End Up A Bargain The new Kathryn Linnemann Library may be built for less than the estimated $500,000 price tag, says Director Carl Sandstedt of the St.

Charles City-County Library District. "It looks like the building itself is going to come in lower than first anticipated," Sandstedt said Friday. A total of 34 construction bids were opened last week. Sandstedt said the new library might be built for about $450,000. Sandstedt credits the library's architect and designer, M.

Thomas Hall of St. Louis County, for holding costs down. "Tom Hall has a reputation for designing buildings pretty cheaply and building them attractively," Sandstedt said. The new 15,000 square-foot library will be built at Elm Street and Duchesne Drive in St. Charles.

Sandstedt said the library district's board of trustees would meet at 7 p.m. Thursday to hear a recommendation from Hall on which construction bid to accept. The 34 bids opened last week included those from general contractors and subcontractors, Sandstedt said. If the library board awards a bid See LIBRARY, Page 2 Howell High School. Miss Leith said she was sure that enough adults would step forward to provide the supervision that would be needed to prevent trouble at the center.

And she was convinced that young people would be willing to help the city make the cosmetic improvements that are needed in the building. Miss Leith was asked what kind of youth activities she envisioned at the center. She replied that in addition to dances, she would like to see craft workshops, aerobic dance classes and recreation like pinball, Ping-Pong and foosball. "The kids want a place to go so See CENTER, Page 2 State Rep. George P.

Dames jT the mother could telephone her son or daughter if she needed to, Mrs. LaRochelle asked. Talk of setting a different path for the Civic Center was a natural spin-off of negotiations by municipal officials with Darato's, the restaurant that now occupies much of the floor space in the Civic Center. The restaurant's lease agreement with the city was drawing to a close, and the Scarato family that operates the restaurant wanted to negotiate a new, longer lease with the city. Some members of the St.

Peters Board of Aldermen were leery of a new lease because their constituents had complained about the restaurant, which agers. Mrs. LaRochelle said she is no different from most mothers who wish they could exercise more control over what happens to their children when they leave the house in the evening. "Once the child leaves the house and gets into a car, a mother usually has no way to keep track of him no way of knowing how to get in touch with him if she needs him for some reason," Mrs. LaRochelle said.

"The mother loses control as soon as the child leaves the house. All mothers have that problem." Wouldn't mothers be relieved to know their children were leaving the house to attend a dance at the Civic Center a dance that would be chaperoned by adults at a place where organization for retirees who live in St. Peters. The young people and the retirees are linked by a common problem limited funds for fun and relaxation. Both groups want to use the center, but neither claims exclusive rights.

In fact, the teen-agers say they welcome the opportunity to rub elbows with their elders in the social setting of the Civic Center. "We don't mind sharing the building with the rest of the community and with groups like the Golden Age Group, with Scouts, with adults or with anyone else who wants to use the Civic Center," Reine Leith, 15, told the aldermen last week. She is a sophomore at Francis Rep. Dames' Proposals Include Jail Financing John Dengler, dressed like a character in a Dickens novel, will tromp down Main Street on Sunday, filling anyone within earshot with Christmas cheer. He plans to take about 3,000 to 4,000 people with him this year to make the third annual community caroling venture one to remember.

"We've invited everybody all the churches in the vicinity to carol with the Daniel Boone Chorus," said Dengler, owner of John Dengler Tobacconist 700 South Main. "This is the third year we've done this, and the numbers have been doubling every year. It's one of the few things we do here that no one else does. I know a small town in Maryland that has something similar, but that's the St. Peters By Patricia McCarron Of the St.

Charles Post Young and old have joined forces in an effort to revitalize the St. Peters Civic Center. Though of diverse ages, the organizers share a desire for more access to the center. Teen-agers want to hold youth functions there. Retirees want to hold quilting bees and bingo games.

And some of the teen-agers' parents want the security of knowing their children are in a place where there is some adult supervision. The effort has been fueled in large part by the energy of Kathy LaRochelle, the mother of four teen Deal Firm Tries To Make Hay Out Of Corn Would you trade your com for a home or, at least, for part of a home? It may sound too good to be true, but that's exactly what McBride Son Co. Inc. asked readers in an advertisement in last Wednesday's St. Charles Post.

"We will take up to 3,500 bushels (of) shelled corn at $2.75 (a) bushel delivered in our bin in Wentzville toward (a) down payment on a home in the O'Fallon area," the ad read. The home for trade is any one of those in the new Willow Run subdivison, built by McBride Son. Unusual as it may sound, the company has practiced trades of this sort for years, and these innovative offers helped develop the company from a single-house operation into the second-largest home builder in Missouri, according to Professional Builder magazine. So says Rick Sullivan, vice president of the company. Sullivan explained that the company prides itself on "working with every program imaginable" to sell homes.

Last week's offer would allow a farmer who had a good crop this year to use the corn as a down payment on a home for himself or his children. "The market price for corn is only $2.30 or $2.40 a bushel, but we're willing to pay $2.75," Sullivan explained. "We've done similar things before. We'll take a house, boat, mobile home or jewelry as a down payment anything we feel we can reasonably convert to cash at some point in time." So why corn? Bob Ball, site manager at the 2-year- old Willow Run subdivision located-off Trudy Lane in O'Fallon, explained that Dick McBride, owner of McBride has significantly reduced its hours of operation. In the end, the city extended the lease with Darato's through the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the community has been invited to suggest alternate uses for the space now occupied by the restaurant and the entire Civic Center. Teen-agers have responded by turning out in impressive numbers at the two most recent Board of Aldermen meetings, as well as at a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. They have been circulating petitions that promote the idea of sponsoring youth activities in the Civic Center. The teen-agers also have joined hands with the Golden Age Group, an Lloyd SpalnhowerSt. Charles Post the builder, a cattle rancher, is corn as a down payment.

titn i deur) tip J1 I ll Vl 1 This is the fourth in a series of articles previewing the proposals that will be submitted by St. Charles County legislators during the Missouri Legislature's 1982 session. The county is represented by four representatives and one senator. By Jim Dustin Of the St. Charles Post State Rep.

George P. Dames, D-O'Fallon, has two major legislative proposals in the hopper for next year. One would prohibit busing for the purpose of integration, and the other would provide a financing mechanism for a new St. Charles County jail. Dames said his anti-busing bill has already drawn 20 to 30 co-sponsors.

It is a resolution calling for a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment. "It basically prohibits busing for purposes See DAMES, Page 2 These two homes at Trudy and East Brook lanes in those for which the Willow Run subdivision in O'Fallon are among willing to accept index Night day Page 2SC Deaths Page 2SC Main Street Page 3SC The way it was Page3SC Cable TV Pages 6SC, 7SC For the record Page 7SC Classified Page 7SC Son, recently purchased a cattle farm in Wentzville and wants the corn for feed. Homes in the subdivision run from $43,000 to $60,000, he said. A farmer supplying all 3,500 bushels pf corn would then have a $9,625 down payment on the home. "We would also take the corn as a down payment on a trailer if the person wanted us to," Ball said.

"We have some buyers out here whose purchases are contingent on selling their mobile home. If. the farmer wanted a mobile home instead, the down payment would apply to buying the mobile home." So far, no one has responded to the ad, he said. But previous ventures have been successful, Ball added. Dick McBride's father, Joseph, was a carpenter before founding the company in 1946, said Sullivan.

After the Korean War, the younger McBride took over the operations and expanded the company from its original operation in Berkeley by diversifying operations into contracting and real estate in Florissant, Hazelwood, West County, St. Charles County and Lake of the Ozarks, he added. Currently, the company is developing Riverwood Trails and Fox Lake Meadows in northwest St. Louis County, Hawk Island Estates in Lake of the Ozarks, and Willow Run. "We develop, build and manage investment property as well as serving as a general contractor and carpentry and foundation sub-contractors," Sullivan said.

"We always try to work with the buyer in any way possible to enable people to buy a new home.".